Nets finally ship Kidd to Dallas

Schuyler Dixon

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 19, 2008

DALLAS -- Jason Kidd is a member of the Dallas Mavericks. Again. Finally.

The long-discussed, once-scuttled and ultimately reconfigured deal to bring Kidd from New Jersey back to the team that drafted him was finalized Tuesday. He was reintroduced in Dallas 14 years after the Mavericks made him the No. 2 pick.

Back then, Kidd was supposed to help turn around one of the worst franchises in sports. Now, as one of the league's best point guards, he's seen as a crucial piece in the Mavs' pursuit of a championship.

"There's no bigger reward than to have that championship trophy in your hand," said Kidd, who lost in the NBA finals twice with the Nets. "That's why I'm here. Because Dallas has its eye on that prize."

The eight-player deal, in the making since before the All-Star break and talked about a lot longer than that, sends Kidd, forward Malik Allen and guard Antoine Wright to Dallas.

Van Horn and Hassell replace Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George in an original trade proposal. Stackhouse's presence in the deal was muddled by plans to get him back to Dallas -- within the rules, although in a way the league frowned upon -- and George used his veto power to block his involvement.

"It's been the most amazing, interesting trade we've ever done, and we've done some doozies here," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "I've never seen anything like it, but all's well that ends well. We got the right guys."

Kidd wasn't the answer in Dallas a decade ago, and he was shipped to Phoenix after 2 1/2 seasons. Five years later he was traded to the Nets, who went to back-to-back NBA finals in 2002-03.

New Jersey hasn't made a long playoff run since, and Kidd started talking trade a year ago, when he almost went to the Los Angeles Lakers. He went public with his latest trade demand last month.

"He's a once-in-a-lifetime type of guy to play with and coach," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "He's had an unbelievable impact on everyone in this organization and we wish him nothing but the best."

Cuban, who was a Mavericks season ticket holder the last time Kidd was in Dallas, is essentially gambling that the 1 1/2 seasons he'll have Kidd is worth more than the 4 1/2 seasons left with Harris running the offense.

Kidd, of course, is a proven commodity, but he turns 35 next month and is a decade older than Harris.

"In any business there's lulls," Cuban said. "Everybody was waiting for the postseason to start. You can't just say, 'OK, turn it on in the postseason.' I think Jason ... being that iconic All-Star will spark a lot of people."

Nets president Rod Thorn saw the same problem on New Jersey's end. He said as the Nets struggled this season, Kidd lost some of the intensity that defines him as a player, making the trade imperative.

Thorn said he first noticed it in December, an indirect reference to an incident in which Kidd sat out a game against the New York Knicks with a migraine, a move some considered a one-day walkout to force a trade.

"Over the course of time it became very evident that his heart wasn't in it," Thorn said. "The kind of player he is, if his heart's not in it then he's not the same player, and it became evident to me that his heart wasn't in it anymore. It just wasn't going to work."

This is the third big trade involving a Western Conference power as the teams prepare for the stretch run. Before the All-Star break, Shaquille O'Neal was dealt from Miami to Phoenix and Pau Gasol went from Memphis to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"We understand the competition is fierce, but we're not afraid of the competition," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.

Kidd's arrival should be a boon to reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki, providing him with the easy baskets he used to get when teamed with Steve Nash. His presence also will open things up for Josh Howard, plus let Jason Terry spend more time at shooting guard.

Harris' numbers have gone up in each of his four seasons, helping him earn a five-year contract worth roughly $42 million before this season. However, he's nowhere near the distributor Kidd is, nor is he liable to get a triple-double. He may eventually have that well-rounded of a game, but the Mavericks decided they couldn't wait.

"We feel (Kidd's) skill set can help us finish stronger, finish games better," Johnson said. "Obviously he's not the guy we're going to lean on for points, points, points, points. He's going to help us because at the end of games, he just knows how to win."

Losing Diop hurts Dallas' front line, as he is the primary backup to starting center Erick Dampier. However, Diop -- who is a free agent after this season -- had fallen out of favor lately.

Allen was averaging 5.4 points in almost 16 minutes per game for the Nets.

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Dallas also announced it waived forward Nick Fazekas, the 34th pick last year.